Star Effect
by 117Jorn
Summary: When a fleet of Mandalorian vessels end up in a new and unfamiliar galaxy, they must fight in order to survive against new enemies as they work to save two galaxies. (Takes place in the same AU universe of Patriot-112's 'Star Wars Second Return' fic.)
1. Prologue

**AN: Please note that this fic takes elements from my 'Star Wars: We Dared' fic, as well as Patriot-112's 'Star Wars: Second Return' fic. This fic is also inspired by Darth Malleus's 'A Long Way From Home' Warhammer/Star Wars Crossover. I am writing this with permission and help from both Darth Malleus, and Patriot-112.**

* * *

_**3 BBY**_

_**Mid Rim**_

_**Lannik Space**_

_**Ancient Rakata Space Station 'The Foundry'**_

* * *

_Personal Log of Tighe Bodalla_

_Admiral of the 12th Mandalorian Union Fleet_

_It seems all of the last minute checks have been completed, I only hope that this works as everyone is expecting it to. I personally have my doubts... I'm still surprised they picked me for this assignment. Since the New Mandalorian Wars ended eight years ago I've been promoted to full admiral, I guess Operation: Starfall got more attention than I thought it would._

_They've called me, my fleet, and several other fleets from both the Mandalorian Union, Rebel Alliance and the Neo Separatists to Lannik Space in the Mid Rim, to the Foundry, the ancient Rakata Space Station the Mandalorians found some time after the Mandalorian Excision 700 years ago. From what I've heard, it used to be an infinite droid factory before the Mandalorian Council retooled it to manufacture more than just droids, but also weapons, ships, and armor. Its considered 1/3rd as powerful as the Star Forge II at Lehon, and that's something._

_However, the Union wants to move the station from Lannik Space to somewhere more secured, considering how dangerously close the foundry is to not just Imperial Space, but also Hutt Space, we can't be too careful to make sure neither of those greedy Chaakare make a move to seize it. We wouldn't be afraid to destroy the foundry-we still have the Star Forge II after all-but High Command prefers to keep the Foundry intact. However, the damn station is about the size of a small moon, so moving it across Hyperspace would no doubt catch Imperial attention that we don't want._

_Some of the eggheads in R&D managed to create a possible solution, a 'Wormhole Projector' they call it. They say it's a possible alternative to using Hyperspace which could be even faster. Since it can not be restrained by Gravity Wells like Hyperdrives, it can go from one side of the galaxy to the other without being dependent on Hyperspace Lanes. Just what we need to get the Foundry from Lannik Space to more secured Mandalorian Space._

_If this thing does work, if, or rather when war breaks out between the Galactic Empire and the Mandalorian Union again, these Wormhole Projectors could give us an edge we need. Even with the Neo Separatists on our side, the Star Forge II, the Foundry, and the new Cloning Facilities we had created, the Empire's military strength could be considered on par with our own. We need a game changer, especially concerning rumors we've been hearing about a new Imperial Super-weapon in the works._

_Anyways, I'm glad to say that being promoted to Admiral has one very impressive perk to it that I have no complaints about: My new flagship, the _Justice, _an _Assertor-_class Star Dreadnought. It use to belong to the Imperials before the crew mutinied and brought her to Mandalorian Space to be refitted and given Mandalorian Colors. She's a true sight to behold, 15 Kilometers of deadly firepower that could rival that of the _Executor-_class._ _She's the largest ship in all of the fleets currently present. She's fully staffed and armed, add her along with the other fleet's ships and we have enough firepower and manpower to take over a whole Sector, and still have enough to take one or two more._

_If this Wormhole thing fails, I pity whatever fools try to get in our way to Mandalore. I've heard the scientists are already beginning to spool up the Wormhole Projector now, they're looking forward to making history, and so am I._

_End Log._

Tighe Bodalla let out a small sigh as he looked out the front viewport of the observation deck of the _Justice._ Stretching out before him was the dagger shape of the _Assertor-_class Star Dreadnought. The massive capital ship once served under the flag of the Galactic Empire, and had been in service since the war, but a successful mutiny brought the titanic warship under the flag of the Union.

The Admiral smiled softly. He couldn't have been given a better ship for his new command. This vessel dwarfed even the _Mandator-_class Star Dreadnoughts, which had become a common sight within the Mandalorian Union's Navy and in her first act of service she would be escorting the Foundry back to Mandalorian Space which would be testing a new form of Faster than light travel, a historic moment to start off this vessel's Career under the Union.

Admiral Tighe Bodalla was an old man in his late forties, standing at just over six feet tall with a chiselled build and dark blue eyes he was also an intimidating individual for those who met him for the first time. His Mandalorian armour added to this, dark green with black trim, so different from the olive coloured uniforms the Imperials wore but also a mainstay in the Union, all soldiers wore armour no matter what branch of the armed services they belonged or what rank they belonged, a tradition which had been constant from as far back as the ancient Mandalorian Empire.

He heard the sounds of boots hitting the metal decking, but didn't turn, waiting for his guest to make himself known.

"A credit for your thoughts, Admiral?" A voice asked, causing him to turn and look at the source of the voice. The speaker was a man who looked to be in his mid to late twenties with short spiked black hair and crimson eyes, standing at just under six feet and wearing black and red trimming Mandalorian Shock Trooper armour. On his back was a DC-15A Blaster Rifle, and on his hips were a pair of WESTAR-33 Blaster Pistol's, however the identifying features were the two cylindrical objects clipped to his utility belt.

He was Jaden Takeo, a Mandalorian Knight, one of several that were within the fleet, survivors of those Jedi who survived Operation Knightfall and Order 66.

Tighe shook his head, "Just thinking about the ship."

Jaden nodded and looked down at the bridge section and the crew pits below. The observation deck was nothing more than a collection of railed walkways, all leading to a central platform. On this platform was a huge holographic table, used by commanders to observe surroundings and issue orders. It was a similar design to the newer Star Destroyers, just ten times larger.

The Mandalorian Knight was looking at the huge expanse of twinkling stars visible from the huge viewports, which was an incredible view. However Jaden's gaze turned towards the vessels which flanked the _Justice, _surrounding her in a protective sphere_._ A _Keldabe-_class Battleship stood out the most, alongside Six _Venator-_class Star Destroyers, seven _Victory-_class Star Destroyers, eight _Dreadnaught-_class Heavy Cruisers, eight _Acclamator-_class Assault Ships, one _Providence II-_class Assault Carrier, one _Aggressor-_class Star Destroyer, and numerous other smaller vessels such as _Carrack-_class light cruisers, CR90 Corvettes, _Marauder-_class Corvettes, and _Crusader-_class Corvettes.

Tighe himself briefly wondered what was the need for such a large fleet for the _Justice_, she was more than capable of handling any pirate threats, heck she could hold off an entire fleet of enemy ships by herself if she needed too. Not to mention the Foundry had its own massive garrison of Starships, soldiers and navy men and women, along with hundreds of thousands of Droids, both active and under construction.

"Even though the _Justice _could handle anything the Imperials or Hutts could muster, it never hurts to be prepared." Jaden said, as the _Justice _and its fleet entered the Foundry's primary entrance, revealing the dozens upon dozens of other vessels dating back all the way to the Clone Wars and older. "It's like my father once said, there is no such thing as overkill." He then frowned a bit. "But, we should still prepare for a long and boring ride sir. Even if this Wormhole projector is as effective as the Eggheads make it out to be, it's gonna be awhile before we reach Mandalorian Space."

"Thanks for reminding me," He replied in a sarcastic deadpan.

"You're welcome," Jaden said with a slight smirk.

"Admiral," both men turned to the central console to see the ship's Captain. Ahsona Phano, a female Togruta and young by any humanoid estimation at twenty six years old. She was a striking beauty, but she was also a serious officer, and Tighe knew by her quick mind and sharp wit that promotion was definitely in her future. "All ships Captain's report that they are ready and waiting for your instruction sir."

Tighe nodded as he approached the centre of the Command Deck, "Very good, Captain Phano. Patch me through to the engineering section of the Foundry would you?"

"Yes Admiral." She said, before turning and pressing a few runes on the command keyboard. Within a few seconds a twenty foot high image of the engineering section snapped into life above the table. The section was, as predicted, a mess with cables of different shapes and sizes snaking across the floor, all connected to this massive spherical mass of metal which was so big he couldn't see a tenth of it on the monitor. Engineers and technicians were either standing by computer consoles or making last minute checkups to the main generators. A few seconds passed before the head scientist appeared on the screen. Doran Krotan, a female Zeltron who was in her mid thirties dressed in a simple dark grey jumpsuit. Her skin was bright red, her hair a dark shade of blue which stretched out to her shoulders, and bright yellow eyes.

"_Ah! Admiral Bodalla!_" She said with a cheerful expression "_You arrived just in time, we've just finished spooling up the Wormhole projector, we can give this thing a shot the moment your ships are safely docked and you give the word sir._"

Tighe nodded just as the _Justice _and most of the other ships began to dock with the Foundry's facilities. "Are you sure everything is ready?" he asked.

"_Please Admiral, I've been over every last nut and bolt of this device,_" she said with a role of her eyes. "_I've done dozens of simulations and they came out positive. One flick of a button and we're on our way to Mandalorian Space._"

Tighe again nodded just as the _Justice _was secured in her dock on the Foundry's docks along with the other ships. "Then let's begin, professor. Start the machine."

"_Yes sir!_" Doran replied enthusiastically before terminating the communiqué. Tighe looked at the Mandalorian Knight and his Second-in-command.

"Well, here goes nothing." he said.

It was a few minutes when they heard a new sound join the symphony of noises which were normal for a warship, a deep hum which seemed to reverberate through the Foundry's very superstructure and through every ship. The Admiral felt the railings he was leaning on begin to shudder as the massive machine started up. Before long everyone could feel the trembling through the station and everything in it.

There was a blast of static before Doran's excited voice echoed through, "_Project Gateway's starting up with no problems. Board's green...all gauges are in acceptable parameters... power level rising... here we go! _"

Using the camera's which showed the outside of the Foundry, Tighe and Jaden watched in surprise as suddenly a large dark blue and purple sphere appeared right in front of the Foundry.

"_Wormhole is stable,_" Doran said, before there was a slight lurch. "_...and she's bringing us in._"

Slowly, the massive moon-sized space station approached the Wormhole, slowly picking up speed before finally it touched the massive hole in space, and disappeared.

That was when everything immediately went to hell.

Suddenly there was a sudden boom, which was the precursor for the trembling to escalate to that of a low level earthquake. The power behind the blast sent everyone on both the observation deck and the bridge to fall to the floor. Alarms began to blare, deafening the Admiral and making his ears ring for a few crucial seconds.

"Doran." he shouted in surprise and anger, "What the hell is going on?!"

"_No idea!_" The Zeltron shouted back through the comm. panic in her voice. "_I've got red on the board, gauges are going crazy... Force, it's overloading!_"

"Then turn it off," he shouted, scrambling his way to the circular console, watching as his fellow officers held onto whatever they could with all they had. The whole ship seemed to be shaking.

"_WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M DOING!_" Doran shouted back. "_I'm doing an emergency shut down right now! Brace yourselves!_"

A sudden tremor so strong it made the entire superstructure screech sent everyone to the decking, Ahsona almost falling clean over the rails had Jaden not grabbed her and held onto her. The Admiral watched as cables snapped and consoles below sparked. Then a great darkness took him from consciousness.


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Please note that this fic takes elements from my 'Star Wars: We Dared' fic, as well as Patriot-112's 'Star Wars: Second Return' fic. This fic is also inspired by Darth Malleus's 'A Long Way From Home' Warhammer/Star Wars Crossover. I am writing this with permission and help from both Darth Malleus, and Patriot-112.**

* * *

**_Location: Unknown_**

**_Date/Time: Unknown_**

* * *

Dark blue eyes flickered open, as Tighe groaned as he felt a massive headache.

"Ugh! What the hell," he said as he got off the floor and staggered for a bit,

Jaden himself groaned a bit, as he opened his eyes to find Ahsona on top of him in a rather... compromising position, as she was beginning to wake as well.

"Ahsona... as tempting as this is," he said. "I must inform you I am already married, have a son _and _daughter, and my wife would kill me horribly if she saw us like this."

The Togruta woman's eyes snapped wide open and saw the position they were in, before quickly getting up with a blush on her face, but still had a calm look.

"S-Sorry about that," she managed to stutter.

Jaden chuckled a bit as he stood back up.

"No harm done," he said as he looked at the Admiral. "You alright Admiral?"

"I'll live. I've got the headache of the century though..." He then stood up, and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when the lights slowly began to flicker, consoles below began making beeping sounds as they came back online, and he heard the rumble of the engines as they rebooted. "Get me a Status Report."

Ahsona nodded as she walked towards one of the consoles, with a noticeable limp as the rest of the bridge crew began to awaken.

"It looks like damage is minimal," she said. "No hull breaches and the systems seem to be auto-restarting with no problems... Both sublight and hyperdrive engines are rebooting. Weapon systems all appear to be intact. Hangar bay is reporting a number of fighters damaged. We're getting status reports from the rest of the sections… same situation as us, a few casualties, mainly from the turbulence, no deaths, thankfully."

Tighe nodded. "What about the Foundry and the other ships? Give me a communications wave, all frequencies."

Ahsona nodded and after a few seconds gave him the thumbs up. "Channels open, Admiral."

He nodded to her before taking a deep breath. "This is Admiral Tighe Bodalla of the UMS _Justice_ to all ships of the 5th Fleet and Foundry, sound off!

Barely a few moments passed before the first voice came through the air, followed by others. One by one, the ships all sounded off. One by one the vessels and warships of the fleet and the defence force voiced their presence, each one sending reports on their status and current combat readiness. Confirmation was given that all vessels, both military and auxiliary, were accounted for.

"All ships... wait for further instructions," He said, before turning to Ahsona with a growl. "Patch me through to Foundry Engineering, if you can. Get me Doran _now._"

The Captain nodded before the front view screen flickered back onto life, as Doran's face appeared on the screen, however she was holding a piece of cloth to her head as a trickle of blood came down from her forehead.

"What the hell happened?" the Admiral ground out, trying to remain calm.

"_Admiral... I have no idea,_" Doran groaned out. "_The moment we entered the portal everything went to shit, half of the power conduits have overloaded, a third of the wiring has shorted out. The machine itself is barely stable. If we hadn't turned it off immediately, it might have torn the Foundry in half._"

She then sighed. "_We're shutting the thing down until we have time to repair it, and find out what the hell was wrong with it. Is everything alright on your end Admiral? What about the ships? The Crews?_"

"We've suffered minimal damage and casualties, no deaths reported yet at least," he said with a sigh, at least she was concerned for the wellbeing of those around her. "Make sure that thing is safe before you shut her down. Make any repairs that you need, but I don't want any replays of what happened today. I want you and all of your teams reassigned to help in the repairs of this ship. Until we reach Mandalorian Space you and those under you answer to me. Is that clear?"

"_Yes, Admiral,_" she replied with a nod.

He returned it. "Then step to it, Chief, but first I suggest you should head down to medical, get that head checked out."

With another nod her image disappeared.

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about that for now," Jaden said, turning to the Admiral. "Let's see if we can find out where we are now."

The Admiral nodded as Ahsona turned back towards the navigation console, and began to go through its databases to find their current coordinates. As she continued reading, her eyes darted back and forth as she took in the data, occasionally Jaden and the Admiral saw her eyes widen, then narrow. Finally, she sighed as she took a step back.

"I don't believe this..." she muttered.

Tighe blinked as he stepped towards the console, and began looking through the contents. A few minutes passed before his eyes widened and he stepped back.

"Please tell me this is a malfunction..." he groaned.

"It's functioning," Ahsona said, shaking her head. "The central process servers are checking every centimetre of the surrounding star formations, and it hasn't recognised a single one, meaning that it can't plot a hyperspace route because we're in unexplored territory. But how can that be possible?"

"I don't even recognise any of the stars..." Jaden said who was looking at the front view screen which displayed the stars outside. "That means we're not in the Mid-rim anymore, nor the Core, Inner-rim, Colonies or anywhere in the Outer-rim."

"Then we're in the Unknown Regions?" another officer asked.

"I'm afraid it could be worse than that," Jaden answered. "We would be able to see _some _familiar stars even if we were in the Unknown Regions or Wild Space. I would say we were in the Void, but if that were the case we wouldn't be able to see stars at all..." he then leaned over the railing with his eyes narrowed. "Where the hell are we...?"

"We're about to find out where we are," Tighe said as he turned to the Captain. "The _Justice _has Probe Droids, yes?"

"Nearly fifteen thousand, sir," Ahsona said, nodding. "Most of the other ships have nearly a thousand of their own as well, and the Foundry can make more easily. They're all Viper Probes."

"Good," he said with a nod. "Contact the _Defiant, _the _Mellano,_ and _Repulse. _Have them move out of the Foundry and launch a full unit of Probes in different directions. If we don't hear from them within three days then the rest of the fleet will launch a unit each."

Fifteen minutes later, the _Keldabe-_class Battleship and two _Venator-_class Star Destroyers emerged moving through the mammoth hanger doors in a v-formation. Once they were clear the main hangar bays of the three capital ships opened and one by one the small teardrop shaped forms of the pods emerged. They remained dormant until they drifted almost a hundred meters clear of their mother ships, then their thrusters activated, sending them flying in different directions before vanishing in a flash of light as their hyperdrive engines activated.

Tighe watched the entire scene from the great viewports, as each drop pod carrying a probe droid vanished one by one as they flashed into hyperspace. He clasped his hands behind his back, eyes narrowing.

"Now we wait."

* * *

**_Two Days Later_**

* * *

Two days had passed since the launch, and for two days the crews of the fleet did nothing but their usual duties, waiting patiently for the first reports to flood in. The damage that the _Justice,_ the other vessels within the Foundry at the time, and the Foundry itself had sustained was minimal. By the end of the first day repairs were already well underway, with an estimated timeline of three days before repairs were complete.

Tighe had to admit that the whole process had been sped along by the good professor Doran. She and her small army of techs and scientists have not only been doing repairs, but they've been testing out some fine tuning of the flagships main systems, including engines, weapons, shields and sensors.

The Admiral himself sat in his personal quarters of the _Justice,_ drinking a cup of Caf as he thought of their current situation. He had personally gone through half the ship, talking with the crew, gauging their reactions and alleviating their fears. The morale of the men and women under his command was strained, everyone was worried, but they were still confident that the commanders above them were doing everything they could to get them home. He did not plan on disappointing them.

Suddenly there was a beeping on the holopad on his desk, he flipped it on as the holographic image of a human woman with long shoulder length hair and wearing what looked like a set of Mandalorian Neo-Crusader armor appeared. She was Sheryl, the Foundry's own Artificial Intelligence that runs the whole station, one of the many add-ons made to the station when it was found by the Mandalorians many years ago.

"_Admiral Bodalla,_" the AI said. "_No new reports from the Probe Droids yet, I suggest we should prepare to send out another wave within 24 hours or so._"

The Admiral nodded. "Thank you, Sheryl. Could you contact Master Takeo for me, tell him I wish to see him in my office?"

"_Right away sir,_" she said, the holopad flickering off.

He only had to wait a few minutes before the Mandalorian Knight himself entered the room.

"You called for me, Admiral?" Jaden asked.

"Yes Master Takeo, thank you for coming," Tighe replied. "Have a seat."

Jaden nodded as he took a seat across from Tighe.

"Could I interest you in a drink?" the Admiral asked. "I believe I have some Corellian Brandy..."

"No thanks," Jaden said, shaking his head. "Not much of an alcohol drinker to be honest, I can't really stand the stuff. What is it you need of me sir?"

Tighe sat back in his chair. "You are aware that we're going to be here for a while."

Jaden chuckled a bit dryly. "I think everyone in the fleet knows that sir."

"Indeed," Tighe said. "So you know that we're all stuck together until we're safely back in Mandalorian Space. I want to get to know my senior officers and see if they're worth their salt."

He looked at Jaden from the corner of his eye.

"You know I'm technically not one of your officers, Admiral," Jaden said. "I'm just another Mandalorian Knight."

"Nevertheless, you are a Force-user like the Jedi," Tighe reminded. "People like the Mandalorian Knights and Jedi are respected by the entire Mandalorian Military, namely after how much you and the Jedi helped during the Mando-Imperial War. The men and women of this fleet will listen to you as well as any other force user or the other commanders here, including me."

He then looked at Jaden square in the eye as he leaned forward. "I propose a partnership. The fleet will be looking to me, you, the Captains and any of the other Mandalorian Knights or Jedi among us to lead them either back home or to a place of safe refuge. I will be commanding the fleet, that's indisputable, but I want you and the other Knights to keep their morale up. Many within the fleet will be looking to you for guidance and help, including me."

Jaden raised an eyebrow, "Admiral?"

"From what I've heard, out of every Jedi or Mandalorian Knight in the fleet, you are currently one of the highest ranking Force-users here. I want you to become my advisor, will you accept?"

"Of course," he said after a long moment of contemplative silence. "Me and the other Knights will do what we can. There's only so many of us here, though, by my last count, there are fifteen Mandalorian Knights, and twelve Jedi. However, most of the Jedi are Padawan's with only three of them ranked as Knights."

"So Twenty Seven Force-Users," Tighe said with a nod. "It's a good start, so, do we have a deal?"

Jaden smirked. "Do you even need to ask?"

"_Admiral, sir,_" Sheryl said suddenly as her image appeared on the Holopad. "_Please come to the bridge at once, one of our Probe Droids have reported back with some interesting findings._"

* * *

**_Later, _****Justice _Bridge_**

* * *

"Alright, what have we got?" The admiral asked.

"_Just one moment, sir,_" Sheryl said, her hologram on the front screen "_Pulling up the recently sent file now._"

Suddenly, the front screen soon showed the image of what appeared to be a planet, and they immediately saw the lush green and blue of the planet surface, indicating grasslands and oceans.

"So, we've got a planet?" Jaden asked. "What's the class?"

"_It appears to be M-Class, Master Takeo,_" Sheryl answered. "_Breathable atmosphere, a surface temperature of 23 Celsius, no moons... it seems like it would serve our needs perfectly._"

Tighe nodded. "Sounds good, any signs of native life?"

"_Yes,_" Sheryl said, "_It seems to have a population of Humans or Near Humans on the planet surface. I believe this world is an agricultural world judging from the structures._"

"So the race is already space faring?" Tighe asked, as Sheryl nodded.

"_Yes,_" she said. "_Though I am unsure as to what extent, this is obviously a colony world and not a home world of any kind... however..._"

Tighe, Jaden, and Ahsona didn't like the sound of that.

"What is it?" He asked.

"_Shortly after receiving that message,_" Sheryl said. "_This happened._"

The image then played out a video, showing the landscape of the planet, showing off its lush fields and a few structures. However suddenly, a massive ship of some kind emerged from the clouds, red lightning moving across its form, the ship itself maintaining a squid-like appearance. Just by looking at the massive ship... Jaden received a bad feeling.

Suddenly, the squid-like ship raised its appendages, and unleashed several beams of red energy across the landscape, burning fields and one beam moving right over the screen before everything turned to static.

"That... doesn't look very welcoming," Ahsona said as Tighe's eyes narrowed.

"Reverse, and pull up the image of that ship," he ordered, as the image rewound back to when the ship emerged from the clouds. "I've never seen a ship like that..."

"It seems to be roughly twice the size of an _Imperial-_class Star Destroyer," Sheryl said. "But other than that... it's completely unknown."

"Whatever that thing is, it's attacking that colony with full force," Jaden said with narrowed eyes as he turned to the Admiral. "Sir, with your permission, I would like to take a few vessels to the system."

Tighe looked at Jaden in surprise. "I don't know about that... if we launched ships, we could be making a lot of enemies wherever we are..."

"But if we help in defending this colony world, we could make just as many allies," Jaden retorted. "We have no idea where we are, sir. If we're going to survive here, we need some sort of alliance with whoever we can. We need detailed maps, resources and supplies. Maybe helping the defenders here could get us on someone's good side."

Tighe weight the options, before he sighed. "Alright, but be careful. If things look like they're going to turn sour, fall back."

Jaden smiled as he saluted. "Thank you, sir. Be back soon."

With that he turned and left the bridge.

* * *

**_Half an hour later_**

**_Unknown Planet_**

* * *

One could already see the devastation to the planet from space, kilometre upon kilometre of farmland and brush was burning, drastically changing the planets hue from greens and browns to oranges, reds and blacks.

Suddenly appearing near the space of the planet was a small vessel, no longer than a hundred meters, soaring towards the planet with great speed and grace. Engraved on the side of the vessel was its designated name, _SSV Normandy._

Inside the hangar bay of the _Normandy,_ five individuals were inside, three of which were wearing black armour, and a fourth in an officer's uniform stood as the ship approached the planet.

"_Engaging Stealth Mode,_" a male voice said in the overhead speakers. "_Someone was doing some serious digging here, Captain._"

The man in the blue and gold officer uniform, Captain David Anderson nodded before he turned to the three men in armour.

"Your team is the muscle of this Operation, Commander," Anderson said to the lead man, wearing the only armour with a single red and white stripe running along down his left arm. "Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site."

"What about survivors, Captain?" asked one of the other soldiers.

"Helping survivors is a secondary objective," Anderson said, as the doors to the hangar began to open. "The Beacon is your top priority."

Commander John Sheppard nodded, however he mentally sighed at how this whole mission was turning FUBAR too fast for his liking. Just a few minutes ago, John was just being told their mission: Sneak to a System Alliance colony, Eden Prime, and collect an Ancient Prothean Beacon for research and study at the Citadel. Not only that, but he was just informed he was to be the candidate for joining the Spectres, the first human spectre in history.

However, they received a distress signal from Eden Prime. They couldn't make out much of it, but it was clear they were being attacked. By who they had no idea, only that it involved a massive squid-shaped vessel. John could only hope that they would get in and out of this mess without any more incidents.

"_Approaching Drop point one._"

"Nihilus, you coming with us?" asked the second armoured figure, Richard Leroy Jenkins. His question was directed at the Turian in red and black armour, currently checking his own M-23 Katana Shotgun.

"I move faster on my own," The Spectre answered, before he ran forward and jumped out of the hangar and out onto the planet surface.

"Nihilus will Scout out ahead of you," Anderson said. "He will feed you status reports, but other than that I want Radio Silence!"

"Ready and able, Sir!" John shouted over the winds the _Normandy _created.

"The mission is your now Sheppard!" Anderson shouted. "Good luck!"

"_Approaching Drop Point two._"

The _Normandy _approached the land once again, and John led his two teammates out of the ship as they jumped out, using their armour's personal Mass Effect fields to allow them to gently land on the ground with just soft thuds. Sheppard and the others quickly drew their M-8 Avenger Assault Rifles, as they scanned the surrounding area for threats.

"Landing zone seems secure Commander," Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko said.

"Good," he said before he raised his hands and pointed them forward. "Move out."

* * *

**_Meanwhile_**

**_Space over Eden Prime_**

* * *

Just as the _Normandy _entered the planet's atmosphere, several vessels suddenly appeared in orbit around Eden Prime. The _Keldabe-_class Battleship, three _Venator-_class Star Destroyers, one _Aggressor-_class Star Destroyer, two _Acclamator III-_class Assault Ships, a _Providence II-_class Assault Carrier, five _Crusader-_class Corvettes and four CR90 Corvettes.

Onboard the bridge of the _Keldabe-_class, named the _Valiant,_ Jaden stood.

"Jump successful," said the Captain of the ship, a human male with short ear length dark red hair and blue eyes. "All ships are reporting in."

"Alright, Captain Olesa," Jaden affirmed, "Let's see what the situation is. Can you contact anyone on the planet?"

Captain Dax Olesa turned to the communications station, where the officer, a Bith, shook his head, before answering in its alien language.

"Negative, sir," Dax said. "Something's jamming communications down there."

"Alright, we do this the hard way," Jaden said, biting back a curse as he prepared to turn to leave the bridge. "I want the Iron Skins ready to deploy at a moment's notice! And I want the Pathfinders to meet me in the hangar outside the _Hetty Naast _ASAP! We're going down there ourselves."

"Yes sir!" Dax confirmed as Jaden left the bridge. It took a few minutes, but Jaden entered the _Valiant's_ hangar bay, where thousands of troops were getting ready for deployment as AT-TE's and A6 Juggernauts were loaded onto LAAT's, and troops in Mandalorian or Clone Trooper armor were being loaded up on different ships and vehicles as well.

Jaden approached a black with red trim _Kom'rk_-class fighter/transport, where around forty men and women in Mandalorian Armour stood, getting their own gear ready.

As he approached, he was confronted by a man wearing Mandalorian Shock Trooper armor, which had the ARC Trooper Kama belt skirt and shoulder pauldron, the armour itself coloured dark green with red trimming. He had two WESTAR-33 Blaster pistols on his sides.

"Sir, we're all ready for action." The man said. Jaden smiled and nodded.

"Good Thrak," he said, as he approached the boarding ramp of the Hetty Naast. "Let's mount up people! We ain't getting paid by the hour!"

"HOO!" The soldiers all shouted in unison before boarding the transport. Once they were all onboard, the vessel rose from the ground, its wings folding into flight mode before launching past the air shield and out into space towards the planet below.

* * *

**_On the surface of Eden Prime_**

* * *

Sheppard and his surviving teammate Kaidan were advancing through the rock formations, after being engaged by what appeared to be scouting drones. During the first drone attack, Jenkins was KIA, their weapons cut right through his shields and armour. However, John knew they didn't have time to mourn his loss. They had a mission to complete.

After fighting through a few more Drones, they moved over a ledge where they saw another battle playing out. They watched as two women. One wearing Phoenix Medium armour and the other wearing light Scorpion Armour as they ran away from two more Drones.

"Nirali come on!" The lead woman shouted as they ran, the Drones firing their personal weapons at the two Marines, their shots impacting on their shields.

Nirali Bhati ran with the woman, before the two jumped and twirled their bodies around in surprising synchronization, as they fired their respective assault rifles at the Drones. The unshielded drones quickly fell upon the concentrated fire, as they exploded and fell to the ground in pieces.

However they didn't have a moment to celebrate, as several new contacts emerged from beyond the path, five machines with single glowing blue eyes which approached them with raised weapons. The two Marines barely had enough time to run for cover before they opened up on them.

Kaidan looked at John, who glanced back and nodded before the two drew their own weapons and began firing at the machines as they ran towards the position where the two Alliance Marines were taking cover. The two women looked at them in surprise.

"W-Who...?" Nirali began to ask.

"Commander John Sheppard, SSV _Normandy,_ at your service," John said as he took cover next to the first woman. "We're here for the beacon... and to protect the colony."

"You sure picked a perfect time to show up." The woman said, "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams and Corpsman Nirali Bhatia of the 212th Sir!"

"What the hell's going on here!?" John shouted over the gunfire, "Who are these guys?"

"I think they're Geth sir," Ashley answered, "We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack first hit! We tried to get out a distress call, but they cut the Communications. Me and Nirali have been running for our lives ever since!"

"Geth?" Kaidan asked in surprise. "The Geth haven't come out of the Veil for nearly 200 years! Why show up here of all places?"

"I think it's safe to say their after the Beacon!" Nirali answered. "It's too much of a coincidence!"

"Where is the Beacon now?" John asked.

"It should be just over that rise, close by." Ashley said, "That's as long as the Geth haven't moved it..."

"Alright, stick close and let's-" John began to say, before they heard the sounds of engines overhead.

The four Alliance Marines looked up, just as a black and red vessel soared over them, which also seemed to catch the Geth's attention as they looked up at the ship as it passed by, however they continued to fire at their position.

"What the hell kind of ship was that?" Nirali asked. "That wasn't Alliance or Geth..."

"And it didn't look like any Council Race ship either," Kaidan said, as the ship appeared to make a turnaround for another pass. "Who the hell...?"

The vessel soared towards them once again, suddenly multiple red beams of energy lanced out, impacting on the ground where the Geth Troopers were advancing, blasting them into dozens of pieces.

"Whoever they are I think they're on our side at least," John said, just as the vessel came to a stop right over them, its wings and engines turning to a position which allowed the vessel to hover in place. Then a hatch seemed to open at the rear of the vessel, as a boarding ramp was let down as a single figure wearing black and red armour stepped into sight.

The figure glanced around the area, before turning back inside and waving his hand forward before he jumped out. Moments after he jumped, the figure activated a Jetpack and soared down towards the ground. Soon, one by one, more figures began dropping out of the ship just as the first figure had, and heading towards the ground as more Geth arrived.

"Who the hell...?" Kaidan asked as the unknowns landed all around them, but they all seemed to ignore them as they focused on the advancing Geth forces. The lead figure landed right next to John and their group.

"Which one of you is in command?" The figure asked, voice masculine.

John looked at the figure and his armour. It was colored black with red trimming, with metal plates on the shoulders, knees, torso and other vital areas over a dark grey jumpsuit. The helmet had a T-Shaped visor with a small antenna sticking out from the side. From the figure's form, he could tell they were humanoid, but whether they were human, batarian or some other humanoid species he could not tell yet. However regardless he answered.

"I am," he said, as he stood up. "Commander John Sheppard, Systems Alliance N7 Marine Corps. Thanks for the help, but... who are you?"

The figure looked at him for a moment, before he reached for his helmet and easily pulled it off, revealing him to be human and surprising all four of the Marines.

"Jaden Takeo, Master of the Mandalorian Knights," he introduced himself and at their confused expressions he continued, "I know you probably have a lot of questions, but right now all you need to know is that we're your allies, and we're going to help you fight off these Droids."

Shepherd and the other three marines blinked at that, but before they could ask, another group of Geth came upon them and began firing.

"Shit, fine!" John cursed as they took cover. "If you can help us deal with these Geth it'll be a big help!"

"Commander!" Kaidan shouted. "Are you sure we can trust these guys?"

"They've got guns, and are using them against Geth." Ashley said, as she fired her assault rifle at the oncoming Geth. "That makes them my best friends in my book!"

Jaden smirked as he put his helmet back on.

"Very good," he said, as he drew out his DC-15A and began firing at the Droids, now identified as 'Geth'. "Then let's send these things to the scrapper!"

Jaden then jumped from behind the cover he shared with the Alliance Marines, before charging at the Geth Troopers. The Marines looked at Jaden as if he were stupid as the Geth Troopers turned to face him and raised their pulse rifles to fire at Jaden. However once Jaden's rifle was out of ammo, he dropped it and drew out two cylindrical objects from his belt, the two devices ignited with a pair of _snap-hisses _into two blades of curved light, one red and one black, specially designed to be longer and thinner than the ones their Jedi cousins utilised.

This did not hamper its performance; in fact it made it superior than the standard lightsaber, the flattened edge giving it more swinging power than a Jedi's which Jaden used to full effect as he deflected the shots of the Geth weapons, using the force to guide him as he came closer and closer. If the Geth could feel fear, the two surviving Troopers he was approaching would have crapped nuts and bolts as every last shot they fired was deflected by the blades of pure light, until Jaden was right in front of them, and with a flick of his wrists easily sliced the two units in half.

"Uh, what the fuck just happened?" Kaidan said in confusion and shock.

"He... he just deflected each shot like nothing..." Nirali said, pointing at Jaden as he proceeded to tear the Geth apart one by one with his swords of energy. "I've heard of Omni-Blades... but this is ridiculous!"

However, John was the first to snap out of his stun as he shook his head.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "We still have a mission to accomplish! Move out and support them!"

The other three Marines snapped out of their stunned selves, calling affirmatives as they each chose a target and added their firepower to that of the strike team taking up positions around them, overwhelming and disabling those Geth who had not been cut down by their allies assault. The battle was over within a minute, made all the more poignant when their supposed saviour deactivated his weapons and waved for his troopers to move up.

Jaden's comlink went off, as he raised his wrist "Jaden here. I've got an LZ for the LAAT's almost secured down here. And there's a nice big old field nearby where we can land the heavies."

"_Good going, Master Takeo,_" Captain Dax said. "_We're currently engaging with the enemy fleet. They've got numbers, but we've got firepower! Life signs read no organics on the ships. I think we're dealing with Droid Armies here._"

"It seems the locals call them Geth," Jaden said, as he used his free hand to continue deflecting pulse rounds fired his way from the last few stragglers. "Though they don't seem to be your run-of-the-mill droids, there's something... more about them."

He shook his head. "Anyways, we've linked up with four defenders on the ground, call themselves System Alliance. Once you can, start sending the troops planet side."

"_Roger that, we'll launch the LAAT's as soon as possible,_" Dax said, before the comm went off. "Kyp! Scur!"

When he shouted out the two names, soon running towards him were two men clad in Dark Green camo covered Mandalorian ARF Trooper armour with Jetpacks, one armed with a DC-15x Sniper Rifle and the other had a DC-15S Blaster.

"Yes sir?" The one with the Rifle asked.

"I want you two to scout ahead of us!" Jaden ordered. "Before we dropped I saw a large set of structures up ahead. It looks like these Geth are defending whatever that place is, so I want you two to recon the area and report back what you find."

The two nodded at that.

"Yes sir!" the one with the rifle said, and they headed off.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, in space_**

* * *

"Concentrate Turbolaser Batteries on those Cruisers," Dax ordered on the _Valiant's _bridge. "I want Red and Blue Squadron's to clear the space of those damn fighters!"

The crew on the bridge quickly answered his orders as the battle continued. Not too long after Jaden and his force reached the planet surface, the 'Geth' fleet soon discovered them and proceeded to launch a heavy barrage of weapons fire. Though the Geth had larger numbers, their ships were surprisingly weak. It barely took half a volley of Turbolaser fire from a _Venator_ to drop the shields for the Frigate tonnage vessels. And for the Cruisers it just took one whole volley.

Overall, the battle was going easy. However the captain was still wary, as he had yet to see that massive Star Destroyer-sized warship from the probe video.

"Launch the LAAT's down to the surface now while they're still unorganized," Dax ordered, "Get those reinforcements down there now!"

"Sir, I'm picking up comm traffic aimed directly at us," announced the Bith on the communications. "Someone is trying to contact us."

"Who?" Dax asked with a raised eyebrow "Is it from those Geth guys?"

"No sir," The Bith said, "I... can't discover the source, on speakers."

Suddenly there was the sound of an aging man on the comm "_This is Captain David Anderson of the SSV _Normandy _to the unidentified vessels defending Eden Prime. Please respond to this channel if you hear me._"

Dax raised an eyebrow at that before he nodded at the Comm officer who opened a channel. "This is Captain Dax Olesa of the Mandalorian Union Starship _Valiant_," he said. "We read you loud and clear _Normandy._"

"Good," Anderson said. "Now, not that I am un-appreciative of what you are doing, in fact I think you're doing a damn good job holding the Geth back... but who in the blazes are you?"

"Believe it or not, we were just taking a look around the system until these guys attacked," he explained. "Let's just say we're new in these parts of the universe."

"_I can see that,_" Anderson said, before he sighed. "_You obviously don't seem to be from Citadel Space or the Terminus Systems. But if you're here protecting the colony, you're a friend of the System Alliance any day._"

"I have a feeling these Geth guys are after more than just your Colony here, Captain Anderson," Dax said. "But either way, we'll help out however we can. We're just about to deploy ground troops to secure the planet surface and to begin evacuating civilians."

"_That will do just fine,_" Anderson said. "_My ship isn't suited for forward combat, but we'll help out however we can. Anderson out._"

When the comm went off, Dax sighed as he leaned back into his chair. "Well, at least some of the locals are friendly..." he commented before his face returned to being dead serious.

"Order the _Resolution _and _Harpey _to direct their fire at that carrier before they launch any more damn fighters!"

* * *

**_Meanwhile, back on the surface_**

* * *

While the battle in space continued, Jaden, John and their respective forces continued forward towards the archaeologist camp ahead, moving at a steady pace.

"I'm hoping you can explain what's so important that these Geth things are attacking this colony, Commander Sheppard," Jaden said, as he and John moved in front of the rest of the group.

"Sorry, classified," John said. "I appreciate you helping us, but I don't trust you completely yet."

"I'd probably do the same in your place," Jaden said with a short chuckle. "But whatever it is, I hope we get... there..."

As the group moved forward, they suddenly came to an abrupt stop at the sight ahead of them. "What... the fuck?"

The camp was practically destroyed, buildings were burning and there were burnt corpses lying across the ground. However what _really _disturbed Jaden were the spikes. There were several spikes situated around the area, and there were _people _impaled on top of them. They looked human... or at least they were. They almost looked more machine than anything else.

"What the hell?" Ashley whispered in a mixture of shock and disgust. "Are... are those the colonists?"

Jaden narrowed his eyes as he began to approach one of the spikes, but stopped when he saw something he considered impossible. First the spire descended to the ground, almost to eye level. Then the impaled corpse... moved.

"Jesus, they're still alive!" Kaidan shouted, as the abomination stood back up, and stared at Jaden with glowing blue eyes, as the other spikes began to descend. It then let out a horrible moan before it thrashed towards Jaden.

He didn't even hesitate before he drew his red Mando'kad and sliced the thing's head off as it approached.

"Weapons free!" He ordered, "These things are _not _human... not anymore."

The marine's training kicked in as they pulled the triggers for their weapons, unleashing a torrent of bullets at the abominations as Kaidan threw out his hand, creating a singularity field with his biotic powers, trapping the creatures leaving them helpless to his allies attacked before throwing out a warp blast, detonating the field and sending the bodies flying.

Jaden saw this and watched with interest as Kaiden suddenly glowed with a dark blue light before lifting up even more of the abominations. Reaching out, and he could sense the force flowing through the Alliance Marine, however it was... different. He filed that information for later as he raised his DC-17 hand blaster and fired at the oncoming creatures, aiming for the head of each creature. Thankfully these creatures were weak, and were easily defeated.

"What the hell did the Geth do to them?" Nirali asked in horror as she looked at one of the creatures, still pointing her rifle at it in case it started to move again.

Jaden narrowed his eyes as he approached the same body with Sheppard, Ashley, and another Trooper who had red-and-white-trimmed Female Clone Trooper Phase-I armor.

"Luna, tell me what we've got here," he said as the trooper, Luna, brought out a small device and scanned the body.

"I've... I've never seen anything like this. Force me... his entire body, skin, organs, and water's been... transformed into Cybernetic material!" She then reached out to one of the bullet holes, where she took a sample of the green fluid inside the creature. "It looks like even the _blood _was replaced by this... stuff. Whatever it is, it seems to be generating its own electrical charge for the body."

Jaden looked at the creature, disgust written on his face. "Force... I haven't seen anything this bad since we had to deal with the Blackwing outbreak . We'll deal with..._this _later. Everyone fan out and search for survivors if there are any!"

The soldiers all nodded as they proceeded to search the ruined camp for any survivors, or at least any that hadn't been... transformed.

"What the hell is happening to these people," John muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. "The Geth have _never _done _anything _like this before, they just kept to themselves behind the Perseus Veil..."

"I'm guessing these 'Geth' are a reclusive people?" Jaden asked, stepping next to John who nodded.

"You could say that," he said. "I don't know the details, but the Geth are an entire race of self-aware synthetics. They've never got involved with the lives of Organics... until now at least."

Jaden raised an eyebrow in interest. "A Race of AI's? Interesting... the Admiral will wanna hear about this..."

"_Alor_, over here!" One of the men shouted next to one of the buildings. "We've found two survivors!"

"Commander, he's right!" Kaidan shouted next to the Mandalorian trooper, as Jaden and John approached the structure and entered inside. They found one woman and a man inside in scientist uniforms.

"Humans," The woman scientist gasped, relief written all over her face. "Thank the maker..."

The other scientist didn't look as thankful. He said hastily in fear. "Hurry! Close the door before they come back!"

John looked at the man curiously before turning to the woman. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Doctor Warren," she said. "I was in charge of this excavation. When those... those things attacked, we hid here in the shed. I believe they came here for the Beacon. Luckily it wasn't here. We had moved it to the Spaceport earlier this morning. I and Dr. Manuel stayed behind to begin packing up the camp. When the attack hit, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide... they gave their lives to protect us."

"No one is saved!" Dr. Manuel said, still ranting in fear. "The age of humanity has ended! Soon only ruins and corpses will remain!"

John and Jaden both looked at the man who obviously looked as if he were going crazy, but John ignored it as he looked back at Dr. Warren "You wouldn't have happened to see a Turian pass through here recently, would you?"

"I saw him," Manuel said darkly, "The Prophet, leader leading the armies of darkness! He was here, before the attack!"

"That's impossible," Kaidan said, "Nihilus was with us on the _Normandy,_ no way he was here before us."

"I think it's possible the doctor here is speaking about another Turian," Jaden said as he stepped towards the man. He stretched out into the force, to calm his mind. "This... Turian, what did he look like?"

The scientist began to calm down with the Force, "He... he had grey skin... he... he looked like he had cybernetics across his body... he didn't have any of the face marks most of his species do... and his eyes... oh god his eyes were glowing blue... just like the Geth's! He has the influence of the dark one in him!"

Jaden listened to him, and nodded as he could tell he was telling the truth, or at least what he knew was to be true.

"Thank you, Doctor Manuel," he said, before turning to Shepard. "We need to get to the Spaceport, and get this 'Beacon' before the Geth get it. If this other 'Turian' is so interested in this Beacon we'd best make sure he doesn't get it." He then turned to the trooper. "I want you and twenty more to stay here, keep the civilians safe," he said. "We may send more your way, so keep your eyes open. Wait for the rest of the Corps to land."

The trooper saluted. "Yes sir!"

Jaden faced the doctors. "I suggest you stay here, my men will keep you safe until our reinforcements arrive."

"Thank you... whoever you are." Warren said, before Jaden and John left the Shed with the others in tow.

"You just stationed half of your men here to protect two civilians?" Ashley asked in surprise.

"Why?"

"If we're lucky, it will be more than just two if we find more survivors." Jaden said, as he signalled the other twenty men and women who would be going with them to follow. "I want to save as many lives as I can here. As Mandalorians, it is our job to protect those who can't protect themselves."

John spared a glance at Jaden, and smiled a bit. Whoever Jaden was or who he worked for, he had a feeling he was going to get along with them well enough. "Let's move out and head for the spaceport."

* * *

**_Meanwhile_**

**_At the Spaceport_**

* * *

"Lot of enemy contacts..." Kyp muttered as he eyed the space port through the scope of his sniper rifle, keeping note of the number of droids he could see, as well as their positions, numbers and, if they had enough time, patrol routes. He and his partner, Scur, had managed to find a fairly good vantage point, giving them a clear view of the entire facility. "That guy looks to be leading the whole show."

"Yeah..." Scur said as he looked through a set of MB450 Micro-binoculars "Something about him doesn't rub me the right way either... should we take the shot?"

"Negative," Kyp said, "We have no idea how strong he is, he could be wearing a personal energy shield as far as we know, and our shots might not break it."

He then stopped as he saw the alien look to the left, before he began waving away the Geth troopers who began to hide.

"Hmm? What's going on...?" He then watched as he adjusted his scope, just as he saw another alien of the same species approach. "We've got another one... this one is different though. Different skin... has white markings on his face... black and red armour."

"I see him," Scur said in affirmative. "Taking cover behind those crates... " He then activated his long-range listening device, glad that there wasn't much static. The other alien emerged from his cover with his weapon raised, however seeing the other one Kyp assumed the alien had a look of surprise.

"Saren?" it said in a strange voice.

The other alien, now named Saren, turned around and faced him "Nihilus..."

"This isn't your mission Saren," Nihilus said, as he approached Saren "What are you doing here?"

Saren's mouth twitched a bit as he approached Nihilus and put a hand on his shoulder.

"The council thought you could use some help on this one." he said, as he moved behind him. This seemed to satisfy Nihilus as he looked towards the Spaceport.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Kyp muttered, as he moved his Scope right over Saren's head.

"This situation is bad," Nihilus said. "I wasn't expecting the Geth to be here."

"Don't worry..." Saren said, as he turned around and raised his side arm to the back of Nihilus head. "I've got it under control."

"Sith spit... shoot him!" Scur hissed, and Kyp didn't need to be told twice as his finger twitched as he fired one shot from his DC-15x. As Kyp had expected, Saren seemed to have a personal shield system. However when the shot of the blaster sniper rifle hit it, it seemed to dissipate and disappear. His shield wasn't as strong as he would have anticipated.

The shot itself caused Nihilus to turn to Saren, and his eyes widened seeing the gun pointed at him.

"Saren, what-" he began to say, before Saren fired. Nihilus's own shield rose up, but it wasn't enough to block all of the damage as the round as some of it hit him in the head, drawing blood, but not killing him as it hit a non-vital part of his head. It did knock him out as he fell to the ground.

Saren cursed as he ducked and dived forward, avoiding another shot.

"Snipers! Take them out!" he ordered, as the hidden Geth began to mobilize.

"Oh shit, here they come!" Scur shouted as he picked up his DC-15S, and began firing at the Geth while Kyp fired his sniper rifle. As he fired his blaster, he turned on the comm. "_Alor_! We've been found! A lot of those Geth guys are approaching our position!"

"_We can hear that,_" Jaden's voice replied, "_We're practically right on top of you. Hang in there, we're coming._" Not even a minute later, the sound of blaster fire was heard as Scur watched as Jaden, the Alliance Marines, and twenty Mandalorian soldiers charged at the oncoming Geth.

Saren saw the reinforcements coming, as he dashed towards the Spaceport, heading towards the trams. Kyp tried to get a few shots on him, but Saren proved very evasive as he made it past a corner, and outside his line of sight. The sniper cursed, but not dwelling on it as he shifted his focus to helping his fellow Mandalorians in dealing with the Geth.

The fight with the Geth ended the same as before, their own shields and armour being no match to the blasters of the Mandalorians, as they approached the down figure of Nihilus. Jaden and John bent down, as John activated his Omni-Tool.

"its Nihilus... and he's still alive," he said, "But he needs medical attention ASAP!"

"Luna!" Jaden called out again, as the female Mandalorian approached as she bent down towards the Turian "Can you do anything?"

"I can try," Luna said as she brought out medical supplies, "Never dealt with a species like this... but let's hope Bacta still works."

Jaden nodded, however suddenly before anything more could be done, they heard a massive mechanical groaning sound.

"Look at that!" Kaiden shouted, pointed further towards the distance.

The others followed his instruction, and their eyes widened as they saw the same massive vessel from before, rising up from the ground, red electricity still coursing across its body as it left behind a trail of black smoke in its path. "Look at the size of that thing!"

Jaden narrowed his eyes, as he recognised it as the ship from the Probe Droid's recording. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as he focused. John looked at him curiously, before suddenly Jaden's eyes snapped back open, as he gasped a bit.

"The fuck?" he cursed, looking back at the ship. "How... that can't be right!"

"What is it?" John asked, as Luna continued to treat Nihilus. "Have you seen that ship before?"

"No," Jaden said, his eyes narrowed as he watched the massive ship soar into space. "But I Intend to find out..." He then raised up his commlink "_Valiant, _this is Jaden! You've got one heavy contact rising up to meet you! She's twice the size of a Star Destroyer, same ship from the Probe Droid's recording. I want the _Impervious _to fire its main gun the moment it's within her firing range!"

"_Roger that, sir!_" Dax shouted back. "_Alerting them now!_"

Jaden turned off the comm, just as Scur and Kyp arrived. "Report, what happened?"

"The one we shot at was definitely with the Geth, sir and he tried to kill this one." Kyp reported, gesturing to Nihilus as Luna injected Bacta into his body. "Nihilus called him Saren, seemed to know him as he lowered his guard. Saren was about to shoot him, but I shot him first. One shot dropped his shields, but he managed to get away. He seemed to be heading further in to the Spaceport."

Jaden nodded as he turned to John. "If this Saren guy is working with the Geth, we'd better follow him,"

"Right," he said, turning to the troopers. "Which way did he go?"

"That way," Scar answered, pointing further down. "Towards some tram station, I believe."

"Alright, you two come with us," Jaden said, before he shouted out. "All of you secure the area! Look for survivors and bring them back to Alpha Group's location! Me and the Marines here are heading further into the Spaceport!"

The troopers quickly acknowledged the order before moving out to complete their tasks, while Luna continued to treat Nihilus, and Jaden lead the two troopers, John and his team further into the Spaceport, to give chase to Saren.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, in space_**

**Valiant _bridge_**

* * *

"Sir, enemy contact breaching atmosphere of Eden Prime," Announced the sensor operator_. _"It's confirmed as the squid-like vessel from the recording."

Dax nodded, they had quite easily defeated the Geth Fleet, and they had begun deploying ground forces across the planet, identifying areas where the Geth were focused the most. The fleet itself was simply waiting over the planet in standard formation. "Alert the _Impervious,_ prepare them to fire their Ion and Plasma cannons as Master Takeo instructed."

The _Impervious _was among one of the latest vessels within the Mandalorian Union's space fleets, she was an _Aggressor-_class Star Destroyer. The schematics were stolen from the Empire a few years earlier and the Mandalorians had improved its designs in many aspects. The _Aggressor's _main armaments being the Plasma Cannon and Ion Cannon mounted along most of the vessel. The Ion Cannon unleashes a ball of Ion energy which can disable entire ships, giving a clear and defenceless shot to the _Aggressor's _primary weapon, the Plasma Cannon, which fires dual superheated plasma. A single shot from its massive cannon is known to obliterate smaller starships.

The _Impervious _moved into position, as the massive warship rose from the planet to meet them.

"_This is _Impervious _control, primary weapons are armed and ready,_" the captain of the _Impervious _declared. "_Unknown Vessel in range... Firing!_"

Blasting out of the first cannon of the _Impervious _was a massive ball of blue and white ionized energy, arcing towards the massive ship. Shortly after its firing, the second cannon of the _Impervious _unleashed two spinning balls of plasma towards the vessel as well. The vessel didn't seem to even attempt to avoid the Ion cannon as the blast hit the vessel dead on. The vessel lurched to the side as the lights across its body began to flicker on and off. Immediately afterwards the plasma cannon rounds arced towards the vessel. It landed a blow right on one of its tentacles, blasting it clean off of the vessel.

Immediately after the blast, the vessel suddenly re-powered as it made a huge 180 degree turn, in such a speed that would have torn any other ship Dax had seen apart, and sped away from the system.

"_Should we pursue, sir?_" The captain of the _Impervious _asked.

"Negative, we still need to secure the planet," Dax replied. "Besides, I think we'll be seeing that ship again soon... very soon."

* * *

**_Meanwhile, on the Surface_**

**_Tram_**

* * *

After fighting through a few more Geth, Jaden, John and their respective teams made it to the tram station, and quickly took one of the trams to the Spaceport. It took them a few minutes, but they finally reached the end of the tram lines. Upon disembarking however, they discovered a large cylindrical device lying on the ground, next to the tram.

"Shit, Demo Charges!" Kaidan shouted, as he rushed towards it. "Geth must've set them up!"

"Shit, everyone Clear the area and find these damn charges before they blow!" he ordered quickly, as Kaiden moved to disarm the first bomb, and the others split up to find the other charges.

Sheppard checked his Omni-tool. "I'm picking up the signals of three other charges! We gotta move it!"

Jaden and John moved forward with their teams, and they quickly came across the first charge, which Ashley immediately headed towards to disarm. However then several Geth Troopers, lead by two Geth Shock Troopers soon discovered them, and charged towards their position.

"Here they come!" Jaden shouted, as he raised and fired his DC-15A, the blue blaster bolts once again traced towards the Geth units, while Sheppard, Kyp and Scur took cover beside him, and fired their respective weapons.

As Jaden's blaster tore through one of the Shock Troopers, tearing apart its insides, he glanced at John as he fired his M-8 Avenger, and he noticed that his weapons took longer to pierce the Geth's personal shields than the blasters he and the others used. He filed that thought away for later as he continued to fire at the Geth.

"Shepard, follow me!" Jaden said as he put away his rifle, in exchange for drawing one of his lightsabers and a DC-17 hand blaster. "Kyp, Scur, cover us, we're going after the last bombs!"

"Yes sir!" Kyp shouted, as he and Scur moved over their cover and began firing at the Geth, while John and Jaden charged over the catwalks towards the next bomb, Jaden deflecting any shots fired at them by the Geth, while John charged on forward, firing his M-8 Avenger.

"I got this!" Scur said, "Keep those damn things off me!"

"Got it Scur!" Jaden said as he, Kyp, and John provided Scur with cover fire as he made a break for the last bomb. The Geth turned their focus towards him as he ran, however suddenly two of the Geth Troopers glowed blue as they rose into the air like the gravity around them suddenly cut off. It was right then Kaiden and Ashley arrived, Kaiden using his biotics while Ashley gunned the Geth down one by one as they floated in the air.

However the battle ended quicker than they would have thought, as Jaden heard the familiar sounds of LAAT/i gunships pass by, firing their lasers and missiles at the remaining Geth on the ground, and quickly offloading troops into the area.

"About time they showed up!" Jaden shouted, but still smiling. "Come on, one bomb left!"  
Finding the bomb was easy, and Kaiden was left to disarming it, while Jaden, John and Ashley approached the one last thing of any interest at the Space Port while the troopers secured the area.

The Beacon.

It was tall, was Jaden's first thought. It looked almost as tall as an AT-ST walker, with a narrow angles and a long tower sprouting from the middle, pulsing with green energy. "So... this is the 'Beacon' you mentioned?"

"Yes," he said, before he sighed. "Probably going to get in trouble for this... but basically we think this thing may have data on the Protheans, they're an extinct alien race from 50,000 years ago. All of our technology was built off of theirs."

"You based all of your tech on the remnants of an ancient alien race?" Jaden asked in slight surprise. "Don't you think that's a... bad idea, especially if this race really is extinct?"

"What do you mean?" he asked as they walked away from the Beacon.

"Well, obviously whoever these... Protheans are, they obviously didn't just drop dead and die in one night." he said. "Something or someone had to have wiped _them _out, so where did these guys go? If the Protheans, with all of their technological advances, still became extinct, it means their technology couldn't help them against whoever or whatever it was. So if whatever wiped them out comes back, what's to stop them from bringing your race to extinction?"

However, before John could answer, they heard what sounded like a pulse, followed by a flash of green light.

"WILLIAMS!" Kaidan yelled. The two turned around and saw Ashley being pulled towards the beacon by an unseen force. John acted first. He rushed to the marine and grabbed her arm, and then hurled her out of the way. However, now the force was pulling Sheppard in, he tried to pull away with all his might,

But even his strength was not enough to completely break away. Suddenly, he found himself floating in the air.

"Commander!" Ashley yelled as she tried to leap after him.

"No!" Kaidan said, pulling her back. "You'll just be pulled in too!"

Jaden cursed as he reached out into the force, as he tried to pull Sheppard out of the beacon's grasp. However, by tapping into the force, and attempting to use it to pull John out of the grasp, suddenly both he and John saw a vision.

_There were people, suffering._

_Metal being welded to flesh._

_Minds being tormented._

_Blood splattering on the ground._

_Screeching of the damned._

_Eyes that spoke of eons of malice._

_"...Reaper..."_

The beacon exploded, sending John flying back and the intensity of the vision forcing Jaden out of consciousness as Ashley and Kaidan rushed to their sides.

* * *

**Codex Entries**

**The Mandalorian Union:** The origins of the Mandalorian Union date back all the way to Mandalorian Excision of 738 BBY. After the unprovoked joint Jedi and Republic Judicial Force assault on the Mandalorian homeworld of Mandalore, though they were disarmed and replaced by the pacifist 'New Mandalorian' government, many old Mandalorian clans still held a lot of resentment against the Republic and Jedi afterwards, and continued practicing their warrior ways either on other planets in the Mandalore Sector, Concordia, or on the ancient Mandalorian Capital Keldabe. Eventually these clans would unite, and band together forming a group of ten major Mandalorian Clans along with multiple others, who secretly unbeknownst to either the New Mandalorians, Jedi or Republic, began rebuilding their military power, the ten clan heads forming the Clan Chieftain Council.

During the Mandalorian Civil War, though, they decided to stay secretive and remained uninvolved, but they gave a helping hand to the True Mandalorians secretly, including several of their own members enlisting into their numbers to both keep an eye on the True Mandalorians, and to assist them however possible without revealing themselves. After the Mandalorian defeat at Galidraan, in honor of their fallen brethren, the Mandalorian Clans take the name 'True Mandalorians' for themselves, as well as adopt Jaster Mereel's Mandalorian Super-commando Codex into their own system.

The new True Mandalorians soon began to show a drastic rise in power after making a series of discoveries, including the ancient Rakata Space Station 'The Foundry', the ancient Rakata homeworld of 'Lehon' and the remains of the Star Forge which they used to reconstruct the once almighty space station, only crafted using both the light and dark sides of the Force. However the largest boom to their power was the discovery of an Independent Kaminoan colony on a planet in Wild Space, who agreed to create the True Mandalorians a Clone Army of their own, in exchange for protection to any who would attack their homes. They agreed, and they used genetic templates from many donors, including DNA samples from deceased Mandalorians from the past, including Jaster Mereel, Canderous Ordo, Shae Vizsla, and more.

In 20 BBY, during the height of the Clone Wars, Mandalore was attacked by the Crime Families of the Shadow Collective. The New Mandalorian government was helpless to stop the invaders, however the Death Watch lead by Death Watch Overlord Pre Vizla arrived and saved Mandalore. He gained the support of the New Mandalorians, as they realized Pacifism's ultimate flaw. However Pre would be killed by the revived sith apprentice Darth Maul, and Prime Minister Almec taking his place with Maul manipulating the strings.

However this proved to be the moment the True Mandalorians had waited for, as in one swift assault they reclaimed Sundari, removed Maul and his brother Savage Opress from power, killed Almec, and united all Mandalorians together. Jango Fett, former True Mandalorian leader prior to the Battle of Galidraan and Mandalorian Bounty Hunter, once presumed KIA during the Battle of Geonosis, revealed himself as alive, the one killed by Mace Windu nothing more than a Clone. He announced the Mandalorian's independence from the Republic, and claiming the Mask of Mandalore as his own, reclaimed the title of Mandalore as 'Mandalore the Reborn'. He then declared the now unified Mandalorian people as 'The Mandalorian Union'.

Afterwards, due to a CIS attack on the Mandalorian world of Concord Dawn, the Mandalorian Union declares war on the Separatists, entering with an alliance with the Republic and Jedi to fight a common enemy. Near the end of the Clone Wars however, when Order 66 was issued out, the Mandalorian Union were key to rescuing many Jedi masters, knights, padawans, younglings, and other people who worked in the Jedi Temple during Operation: Knightfall. After the war, many surviving Jedi, as well as many Clone defectors and those who disobeyed Order 66 fled to Mandalorian Space, which had increased drastically during the war to over 200 Star systems.

However, the end of the war just marked the preparations for a new war. As the newly established Galactic Empire built up its military might for a war against the Mandalorians, to claim full control of the galaxy. Three years after the Clone Wars ended at 16 BBY, the empire launched an attack on the Mandalorian-held world of Kashyyyk, beginning the First Mando-Imperial War, sometimes referred to as the New Mandalorian Wars.

The war lasted for five years, and heavy losses were taken on both sides. The destruction of this war rivaling that of the Clone Wars prior. Eventually though, even though they secured over a hundred more star systems, and the Galactic Empire took and lost many planets of their own, a truce was signed between the two factions, as the war was brought to a Stalemate ending with the signing of the Treaty of Zeltros.

However, even though the war had ended, both sides knew it was only a matter of time before the second war began. Within the years of tense peace, both sides have begun building up their strength for the next war, entering a Cold War between the factions. In order to sabotage the Empire, and to keep them distracted, the Mandalorian Union became key to founding resistance organizations who would stand up against the Empire, including the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and the Neo Confederacy of Independent Systems, aka the Neo Separatists, as well as supplying them with weapons, starships, and equipment, as well as sending secret advisors to help in the training of their armed forces.

* * *

**oOoOoOoOo**

**The Mandalorian Knights:** The Mandalorian Knights, also referred to as the Mandalorian Order, are an organization of Mandalorian Force-users, similar to the Jedi or the Sith. However unlike either faction who side with either the light or dark sides of the force, the Mandalorian Knights believe in the Unifying Force.

The history of the Mandalorian Knights date back all the way to the Mandalorian Wars, nearly 4,000 years ago. A group of Jedi Knights and Masters who defied the orders of the High Jedi Council, and joined to fight the Mandalorians during the wars under the command of legendary Jedi Knight Revan. However, these rogue masters began covertly sabotaging the Republic war effort under the direction of the maverick ex-council member Dorjander Kace. Having come to believe that the Republic was corrupt beyond redemption, Kace and his followers embraced the Mandalorian way of life, coming to call themselves the Mandalorian Knights.

After the war, these Knights were believed to have been all wiped out during the Battle of Malachor V. However, this proved untrue, as the Mandalorian Council of Clan Chieftains rediscovered the old order some 300 years after the Mandalorian Excision, inhabiting a chain of Planets within the Unknown Regions of their galaxy, including a group of planets called the Rakatan Archipelago. An alliance was quickly formed, and the Mandalorian Knights were integrated within their organization.

The Mandalorian Knights proceeded to grow surely, but slowly to avoid being found out by the Jedi, or even any surviving Sith Lords. After the Battle of Galidraan, former Jedi Aren and Sutura Takeo, who left the order to join the True Mandalorians in their fight, were eventually approached by both the New True Mandalorians, and the Mandalorian Knights, to become among their numbers. They accepted, and soon they arose to the positions as both high ranking members of the Chieftain Council, and members of the High Mandalorian Order Council.

During the Mandalorian Union's entrance in the Clone Wars, the Knights fought side-by-side with their Jedi brethren against the Separatists, proving key to many victories for the Mandalorians and the Republic. It soon became evident that the Mandalorian order was far more prepared for such a war than the Jedi were. When Order 66 was issued out, the Knights and the Union helped evacuate many Jedi and Temple workers escape from the Jedi Temple during the assault of the 501st Legion, even assisting in the successful defection of Clone Commander Rex and Torrent Company.

After the Clone Wars ended, many Jedi ended up joining the Mandalorian Order, including former Jedi Ahsoka Tano, Barriss Offee, Aayla Secura, Quinlan Vos, and many others. Those who didn't found sanctuary at the planet of Ossus, which was defended by the Mandalorians and far outside of Imperial Reach. During the Mando-Imperial war, once again the Mandalorian Knights served the Union, fighting alongside their troops until its end. And even now, during the cold war, knights still act as advisors to training resistance groups against the Galactic Empire, as well as launching many covert infiltrations into Imperial Space to rescue additional Jedi trapped within Imperial Borders.


End file.
